Cooper v. Pate
378 U.S. 546 · Decided June 22, 1964 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Cooper v. Pate was decided on June 22, 1964 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 378 U.S. 546 · 84 S. Ct. 1733 · 12 L. Ed. 2d 1030 · 1964 U.S. LEXIS 832
- Docket number
- 1134 M
- Decided
- June 22, 1964
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Free exercise of religion
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Cooper v. Pate, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1963-172, docket 1963-172-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Free exercise of religion”
- Sherbert v. VernerLaw held unconstitutional
- Solomon v. South Carolina
- Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Massachusetts, Inc.
- Braunfeld v. Brown
- Kreshik v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church of North America
- Presbyterian Church in the United States v. Mary Elizabeth Blue Hull Memorial Presbyterian Church
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Fields v. City of Fairfield.
- Greene v. United States
- Kreznar v. United States.
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanLaw held unconstitutional
- Rabinowitz v. Kennedy
- Henry v. City of Rock Hill
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error